You can't go Rome again

The transparency of the desire to return us to a more autocratic time in history exists in the Roman Catholic Church AND in American politics...what I haven't been able to wrap my mind around is that this is SO transparent, yet what are we doing to avert it??? What CAN we do to avert it?

Unfortunately, Gene's insights and reflections once again seem to be right on the mark. One has to doubt that the Curia, et al, will even bother to provide life jackets for the scores of the faithful who will finally jump ship as its Papal captain attempts to steer it back to the port it refreshingly set sail from, once again safe from the challenging winds of the Spirit!

The Vatican in taking the position that they cannot bend one inch, and in fact want to go back to the pre Vatican II Church, have created an ossified Potempkin Village of a Church. You cannot turn back the clock, you cannot return to the past. Oh, a small number of the laity plays along with this nonsense, but the vast majority of the laity refuses to be treated like stupid children. We have a major disconnect here and it is not going to end well.

We now learn that a Neutrino travels a nano second faster than the speed of light, which will totally undo Einstein's Relativity theory and forever alter Physics, that it is possible to take a chicken and by reverse engineering taking it all the way back to being a dinosaur from which it came, that there are theories that Angels may really be ETs that came to earth and helped mankind advance from his primitive beginnings, and actually helped him build pryamids and other ancient amazing structures on the planet. That Roman and Greek gods of myth might been actual beings from other more advanced planets. All of these things if true could completely alter theology as we know it. Who knows maybe Jesus was actually an ET. We don't actually know but is the Church's attempt to go back to the good old days when in the Church, guilt was the gift that kept on giving,helping man evolve. It certainly is not much different than the radical right wing in our government wanting to set up a theocracy with their brand of Christianity, falsely claiming that the founding fathers were Christian. History tells us they were anything but, and feared orthodox religion of any kind.
We seem to be on a conservative track in the Church. Is this fear of losing control of the flock? A backlash to Vatican 11, and the radical 60s blaming both for the straying away from strict orthodoxy by its members.
Who knows. But it is not possible to go back in time, and to attempt to do so will not last. Youth will always move the dial forward.

Once again, Kennedy hits the nail on the head. The last paragraph is prophetic, and puts into true perspective the Reform of the Reform.

Thank you, Dr. Kennedy. You describe well the fundamental cowardice of our ecclesial hierarchy, which is the stem cause of their inability to integrate empirical knowledge with faith. But what can you expect from an institution that took 300 years to admit that Copernicus was right? Today we still have cardinals who love nothing more than running around in lace and brocade and proclaiming a world view based on Aristotelian metaphysics as immutable truth.

It's up to the laity to realize John XXIII's vision of an "agiornimento", and rescue the church from this pitiful decadence.

Aha! So that's why the Vatican/pope keeps taking us back! It's like they're caught up in Jack Finney's Time and Again. As usual, Gene Kennedy's metaphors help us understand what's going on. Now if only he could make the pope understand his own dysfunctional behavior, trying to take us back instead of figuring out how he can best serve. Kaiser

Bravissimo, Eugenio, bravissimo!
Marvelous explanation of the horrible stuff being perpetrated. Another nail dead on !

Thank you! A marvelous piece about going backward, not forward. I have often wondered whether Benedict's age influence his yearning for the past, but after reading your piece, I think not. He simply wants to be inthe past, when the church and its priests ruled all of us, including no meat on Friday. (Note: I can remember avoiding New England clam chowder because some recipes suggested a piece of cut-up bacon would enhance the taste of the soup.)

Another great zinger, Gene. What are we to do, oh, what are we to do? I suggest that for those who are interested in authentic religion, not back to 1925, but way,way back to the beginning! Start with a group of like seekers; have a prayer group in your homes, and study, and let the Spirit guide you from there."Fear not, for I am with you..."

WELL WRITTEN Eugene Kennedy.
Thank you.
I only wish and hope the things you write about would be HEARD by those "in charge" who are trying to take us back 30-50 years. ugh. HELP US OH HOLY POPE JOHN XXIII. (when I visited his 'resting place in Rome" in 1998, he spoke to my heart; was I ever surprised! I shivered, and thanked him for his bravery and for acting according to God's Holy Spirit that many of us are able to stay in the church, with joy - altho daily frustrations bring us to the edge.
I wish there were more men in the church like you, MR. Kennedy. Speak on....
In His Name ---

Mr Kennedy has put into words all the thoughts and feelings I have had about the New Roman Missal. As a women I wonder how long it will be before we are put behind the "communion rail" and be left to clean the church and make flower arrangements. My pastor assures me "we will never go back" but as much I would like to believe him Rome and other dioceses in the USA seem to heralding a new kind of "old church" once again. Where is the Holy Spirit that helped to form VCII, has she been sent down the river?

One of the things I like best about Kennedy's articles is his use of metaphor(s), mixed thought they may be, rather than cold fact and rigor of reason. Few seem to care about facts and reason is usually trumped by rhetoric and bombast. Cleverly crafted metaphor seems more effective in unmasking intransigence and revisionism posing as intelligence and faith (I might add prideful arrogance posing as humble scholarship in the case of Benedict/Ratzinger and his ilk).

The thin veils of Kennedy's points are transparant and the metaphor seasons one's peppery anger with the salt of humour.

I would like to know what is "the listening heart" of Benedict's address to the German Bundestag? It it really, as he pontificated: "...the capacity to discern between good and evil..." or is it not first and foremost the sound and feel that God is moving in creation, in history, in you and I, here, now....

To me this disdain for the present and imperative to recreate a past is a woeful lack of faith.

You believe that a planet 4.5 billion years old was saved by a Jewish man who lived two thousand years ago and you're accusing someone else of being out of touch with reality?

Since you clearly don't know where the humerus is (not the shoulder), you probably don't know where the Church is headed, either. All you can tell is that it's not headed in your direction. (Betcha Benedict knows what a humerus is.)

LET'S GO BACK FURTHER ........Thanks, Gene, for your incisive and provocative article. If the Roman clique (Messrs. Ratzinger, Bertone, Sodano, Levada, et al.) want to time travel, why don't they go back all the way to the the consensual spirit and structure of the early Christians before Constantine by sheer force put the Church on a coercive path it still travels on. Any structure is authentic and worthy of respect only to the extent it conforms to the essential Gospel message. A non-conforming structure may, of course, sustain itself by coercion as at present. This has resulted from the continuation of the Constantinian coercion model. It may have pleased Constantine, a ruthless emperor, but Jesus would not recognize the current Church. It may be Constantinian, but in so many ways it is hardly Christian. ...............As has been made made clear by many biblical scholars, including the pre-eminent Raymond Brown, Gospel support for the primacy of the papacy is ambiguous at best. Also, historians are unable to prove in any satisfactory manner the succession from Peter during the early centuries. Prior to the fourth century, the Church operated consensually. Priests and bishops were appointed with the consent of the faithful. Dogmatic and discipline matters were addressed by dialogue, not compulsion as at present. ..........Then along came Constantine and the rest is history, usually bad history as far as the structure of the Church is concerned. Constantine ordered bishops to Nicea in 325 and pressed them to declare prematurally doctrines all must assent to or face banishment. The Gospels were then still being filtered through the differnt concepts and terminology of Greek philosophy and it was premature to cast these doctrines in concrete. Constantine and his immediate successors then pressed for the closure prematurely of the biblical canon, forcing unnecessary and premature decisions about what writings would be included or excluded from the New Testament. ............To enforce this premature uniformity, Constantine and his immediate successors imposed a hierarchical, coercive structure on the Church, that in fundamentally important ways is still with us. Catholics were no longer told "you should" act in a particular way. Instead, Catholics were and still are told they must act in one way, or else.So we have doctrines that are "mysteries" interpreted by a Roman clique that has an ambiguous biblical and questionable historical foundations. We also have nonstop commands (You must do this or else). Jesus and the apostles dialogued and persuaded mostly; they rarely commanded. Now we are told when and with whom we may share sxual intimacy, who we should vote for, etc. This must end. .................. The European political pressure on the Church under Constantine's many direct and indirect successors continued formally until 1870 and practically until the mid-1900's. John XXIII realized that the Church was by 1960 free of European political pressures for the first time in over 1,600 years. He wanted to begin to return the Church to its spiritual origins and pre-Constantinian spirit. He called Vatican II to begin this return, but died in 1963, in the early period of Vatican II. With John gone,the Roman curial forces, that had run the Church as their personal fiefdom for many centuries, quickly jumped back in to preserve the power, wealth and privleges of both the curia and their 5,000 glorified puppets, the bishops. The curia obviously supported and steered the election of the next three long serving popes, Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, who have worked hard to undo most of Good Pope John's plan to eliminate the medieval structure and return to the Church's early Christian origins. ...........The Roman clique unexpectedly may now be dislodged not by any pressure from oppressed alternative voices, but by the International Criminal Court (ICC). Even John Allen has indicated this criminal proceeding against the Roman clique for crimes against humanity may be a "blessing in disguise". Please see the comment "POPE IN HANDCUFFS?" accessible by clicking on to http://ncronline.org/blogs/all-things-catholic/blessing-vatican-really-d... ............Unexpected events are happening too quickly to permit full analysis. For example very recently, John Allen wrote an NCR article extolling Philly's newly appointed Chaput, a rising star in the eyes of the Roman clique. Please click on to the comment "MOVERS & SHAKERS?" accessible at http://ncronline.org/news/us-capuchins-punch-above-their-weight However, the Philadelphia Enquirer a few days ago reported that Chaput at a recent secret meeting with Philly priests led the applause for priests indicted or suspended over sexual abuse or cover-up allegations. Chaput's colossal blunder may help support the ICC case on the theory that the the Roman clique just appointed Chaput and one of his first actions is to boost the indicted former Secretary to Bevilaqua and Rigali, William Lynn. The Philly court ruled today Bevilaqua has to submit himself to an independent examination to determine his capacity to undergo a deposition. These rapidly moving criminal cases could lead to Church reforms, whether the Roman clique likes it or not. ............For more info on the Philly criminal case currently, please click on to http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20111004_Suspended_monsignor_... ....And for background on the Secretary to the Archbishop, William Lynn, please click on to http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the catholic-churchs-secret-crime-files-20110906 ..................Instead of trying so hard to convert the Church to a cult funded by right wing allies who want the Roman clique's help in supporting politicians who will keep these right wing allies' taxes low, the Roman clique needs to call for an worlwide Catholic assembly, to be held perhaps in Brazil, the largest Catholic country. The assembly needs to be broad based, including lay persons. Please see the call for a similar gathering accessible at http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2010/04/pope_shou...

Thank you, Eugene, you are so right in your analysis of the "Reform of the Reform". Using the Eucharist itself as its location, the "reformers" are plunging a dagger in the heart of Vatican II. I suspect they've been at this for a long time, knowing that Rome wasn't built (or reformed) in a day.

Why don’t we just join the Anglican Catholic rite that Benedict created? Assuming they are not stuck with this new translation. Even if women priests are still given short shrift.

A once-and-future scenario is suggested by the gospel readings of this and the previous two Sundays: As those entrusted with leadership in the Church turn their backs on the Spirit-directed developments of Vatican II, a change far greater than the ones they fear may well be taking shape.

Well said, Eugene. The reactionary trend coming from the Vatican shows no sign of slowing. Unfortunately, this reactionary/fundamentalist movement is hitting all the world's major religions simultaneously.

The modest pace of Re-reform suggests a need for a better focussed campaign. It's time for Benedict XVI to issue a Syllabus of Errors, 2nd Edition, inspired by the comprehensive work of 1864 from the perfectly nicknamed pope Pio Nono:
http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Pius09/p9syll.htm

Some of the original 80 Errors in the Syllabus -- on marriage, owning real estate, religious freedom -- could probably be copied verbatim today. Some are fairly clearly overtaken by events and should be replaced. Obvious topics for new entries include sexuality, secularism, relativism, culture, God's requirements for language in church and gender(s) on the altar, celibacy, post-Galilean measurements of the universe, post-Thomistic human biology, and sexuality. Worldwide capabilities in the Space/Information Age make it possible for the sensum fidelii to be tapped for suggestions in ways Pius IX never could have imagined.

A concluding message in the original from Pius IX to the Archbishops and Bishops of Prussia might remain useful today in view of the immediate turmoil in the Church in middle Europe. The encyclical explaining Pius IX's views and motivation for the Syllabus is Quanta Cura, Condemning Current Errors, Dec 8, 1864:
http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Pius09/p9syll.htm

For the sake of Church unity and sacramental authenticity why not revert to the Mass in Latin as a prelude to re-embracing the original Aramaic? Let's face it boys (of the Vatican), Jesus did not institute the Holy Eucharist in ecclesiastical pidgin Latin! Think about it

Thank you Eugene for excellent article

I feel there's a strong element of colonialism in current Vatican policy.
See http://www.jesustower.com/Thinktank/history.htm

Kennedy's articles gives voice to my reaction to this nonsense being dumped on practicing Catholics with absolutely no consultation and with a paternalistic "Father knows best" attitude that allows for no recourse other than "praying for enlightenment," assuming, of course, the infallible wisdom of these changes.

What's lacking in the article is any suggestion as to options that might be available to those Catholics who have hung with the Church in spite of its regressions, i.e., what might we do short of joining the millions who have already exited the Church? Envelopes put in the collection basket with notes explaining why we can no longer contribute? Petitions to end all funding transfers to the Diocese & up the chain? What else? Maybe instead of just occupying Wall Street we could also attempt to take back the pews.

Maybe the Pope should just turn the "reform of the reform" over to the Disney people who are masters at recreating expurgated, sanitized versions of the past. They could call this one Triumphalism Land.

I find it sad that an intellectual like Eugene Cullen Kennedy cannot move on from where he was when he gave up the priesthood. The Church being a Pilgrim Church is on a journey, it is constantly moving forward as it draws inspiration from both the past and the future. What Mr. Kennedy wants to happen, it seems, is to nail the Church to a period of time which, i think, is the late '60s. The train has moved on the rail way of time and Mr. Kennedy has been left in the station of his imagination. He thinks he is infallible in his interpretation of Vatican II and all the rest whom he thinks do not conform to him are in error.

Brilliant you are, Eugene Kennedy. All these thoughts have been whirling around in my mind, but you have brought them into an integrated whole. The words, "Cruel and seductive illusion of the unforgiving sands of time" hit me like a ton of bricks. After all this time of genuine suffering through these "Time and Again" changes that are now upon us, I see that the church is a house built on sand. The Benedict XVI model of the church will crumble and blow away. How many times do people need reminding that one cannot "go back." Not being able to go back in any meaningful fashion is brought out beautifully in Thornton Wilder's play, "Our Town."

However, I am faced with being in the music ministry and having to teach people the compositions that good, holy and talented church musicians have labored to offer. These composers are faced with having to stuff Latinate text into parts of a contemporary musical rendition of parts of the Mass. It is not just a question of words and music, but of the sense of loss of the Vatican II English translation and the great music that accompanied it that we will never hear again -- for no good reason.

Why couldn't Benedict XVI lead the church forward?

Throughout history the Church has needed to re-express her message so that her eternal truths can be understood through the cultures of the time. To attempt a return to 1925 is not only futile, it is potentially disastrous. Are we to lie down under the modern zeitgeist or find ways of communicating the truth to it?

And, once again, RIGHT ON, Gene. And, in your telling,it sounds actually quite
pitiable. You have actually caused some compassion for them to rise in me, though their actions are afflicting both my mind and heart sorely these days.

I just returned from Mass in which the priest explained that

"parts of the new English Mass may sound strange, even archaic, because it was impossible to get the Bishops of all of the English speaking countries to agree on one translation, so sometimes you might feel you are in London, sometimes in Australia, sometimes South Africa, and sometimes you won't know where that translation could have come from."

Oh really? How about it came from Rome, pre-Trent?

God Bless our glorious Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI! His agenda is to me like hearing the melodies of Mozart after being forced to listen to continuous Justin Bieber albums for years.

I can understand that Eugene is rather upset at the way things are going. From what I've read, Erich Honecker was rather upset about the way things were going politically for his people toward the end of the 1980s as well.

Finally under Benedict, we shall see Vatican II begin to take shape as it was MEANT to be implemented, as the documents MEANT for change to take place. The generation following me is very much in love with the Church and the Faith. They long for Christ who was crucified for our sins and rose in glory, not 'Buddy Christ' as lampooned in the film 'Dogma'.

I don't understand all of you who are so angry at our mother the Church. But, know that no matter what, you will always be welcome and we will pray that you let go of your anger.